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Nebraska Scores Poorly In Cancer Study

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Fred Forman

Nebraska gets a poor grade on a report card ranking the states for efforts to prevent and fight cancer. The study from the American Cancer Society used ten criteria, things like the size of cigarette taxes, tobacco cessation program funding and the amount of phys ed required in schools. Nebraska only got a passing grade in one of the ten categories. David Holmquist, with Nebraska’s office of the Cancer Action Network, is critical that state legislators have failed to pass age restrictions on tanning beds.

Only five states have banned everyone under 18 from using tanning beds, while seven states have put restrictions on tanning. The single category where Nebraska had a passing grade was for the statewide smoking ban. Holmquist says the best-ranked states only passed six of the ten categories.

According to the Cancer Society, more than 9,000 Nebraskans will be diagnosed with cancer this year and more than 3,000 will die from it. See the full report at: www.acscan.org